While talking to staff at the campground office, a frequent visitor, familiar to the staff appeared. Bart the Buffalo apparently often roams the campground loops. Angie got a picture of him entering the park.

​​After a leisurely morning, we hitched up the trailer and hit the road. We stopped at our favorite beach on Yellowstone Lake to give the dogs some exercise. Our campground did not have a place for them to run, except on the road, which is too hard on Hank's knees.

We crossed the Continental Divide (only 8,000 feet) one last time and descended into the Pacific watershed. We exited Yellowstone via the South Entrance and entered the Grand Tetons National Park. As we arrived on the east shore of Jackson Lake, we got our first views of the Tetons- amazing! They were so close and rose dramatically from the valley below. Their remarkable jagged peaks evince their youthful age of 10 million years.  Their older brothers, the Western Cascades and the Sierra Nevada, are 40-45 million years old, while the grand sire Appalachians are 541 miilion to 1.1 billion years old. Unfortunately, smoke from California wildfires made the views from a distance hazy.

Our home for the night - Colter Bay Village campground, on the shore of Jackson Lake - had an impressive set of nearby conveniences, including a swimming beach, cafe, restaurant, bar, espresso stand and gift shop. The camp host directed us to Jenny Lake for the best view of the Tetons and, wow, what a sight!

As we approached Jenny Lake, the mountains grew larger and larger and our sense of awe increased exponentially. We had never seen anything like it! These mountains are like "all up in your face" mountains. It was like an extreme close-up with nearly 130-degrees of our field of vision filled with mountains. The peaks rise sharply 6-7,000 feet above a fault line on the far shore of the narrow lake. It was the most magnificent example of God's art and architecture - even surpassing Zion National Park - in Hank's opinion. It is remarkable that the rocks in the mountains were once part of the bedrock of the valley floor before they were upthrusted in such a dramatic fashion.

People were actually wading and swimming in Jenny Lake. We walked a short distance around the lake on a paved path until we found a more-secluded, level, rocky beach where the dogs could swim a bit. Unfortunately, after a short 10-minute play period, a ranger shooed us out, informing us that dogs are not permitted in the water and must stay on the paved walkway. Several on-lookers commented on how much they enjoyed watching the dogs swim before we were shut down. Angie immortalized the memory of the dogs swim at Jenny Lake, with what Hank thinks is the best photo of the trip. What do you think?

We returned to our campground and after dining al fresco on a delicious white pizza from the cafe, we walked to the beach for a view of the sun setting behind the mountains on Lake Jackson. Unfortunately, a sign informed us that dogs were not allowed on the beach, so Hank waited by the gate with Streak and Charlie while Angie walked to the lake shore and snapped some photos. We resolved to arise early the next morning in order to catch a sunrise view from Jenny Lake.

​We left our campground shortly after 8 am for the 40-mile drive to Old Faithful. This park is enormous! Our timing couldn't have been better. There was ample room in the parking lot. Angie got us within a couple hundred yards of the geyser. And we only had to wait about 15 minutes for an eruption - albeit a smallish one.

We moved into the Visitor Center where we learned a lot more about the underground volcano that has erupted three times in the last couple hundred million years. There are more active geothermal features (geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pits) in Yellowstone than in all the other global sites combined. The geothermal activity is continuously reshaping the landscape. Scientists from all over the world are studying the unique microorganisms that inhabit these harsh habitats. One of these organisms has been used to help decode DNA. Others have been linked to the first forms of life on earth.

Our next stop was the Grand Prismatic Spring - active, steamy hot ponds of opal and turquoise with newly forming white terraces and bright yellow bacteria mats forming along their outflow into the river. A boardwalk hike allows you to safely view all the fascinating ponds in the midst of their epic surroundings.

Angie next guided us onto a one-lane road along Firehole Canyon, a steep, narrow canyon with a waterfall and a small swimming hole. Unfortunately, the swimming hole was closed for some reason - perhaps damage from the Spring flood.

We returned to the the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone to do the 3/8-mile, steep hike to the brink of the Lower Falls. We had eschewed this hike the previous day, thinking that we would get better vistas along the canyon rim. It was well worth the effort! The lower falls drop in one piece, rather than the stages we saw in the upper falls. An overlook takes you right to the top of the falls where we feel the roar of the water and the cool mist of the spray. A rainbow formed in the spray far below. And the view downstream in the Canyon was awesome.

We crossed the Continental Divide twice during our drive on the South Loop.

After returning to our trailer, we repeated our routine of "linner" and beach time. We were disappointed to find a couple of fisherman at our private little cove. But God provides! We found an even bigger beach nearby with an easier access trail and an easier water entry for the dogs. It was also sunnier, so we were able to stay later into the afternoon.

Returning to camp we had happy hour on our shady patio while listening to tunes on our Bluetooth speaker. We learned from a ranger that a black bear had appeared at the bathrooms near our campsite while we were away. Staff shooed the bear away.

As the temperatures dropped, we broke out a propane fireplace that Angie had insisted on bringing, against Hank's protests. It was the first time we used it on this trip, and it was wonderful. It was warm and provided a yellow glow to our space. We broke out the S'mores fixins and indulged, while waiting for the stars to emerge. Unfortunately, there were only a handful of stars visible by 10 pm, when sleepiness overcome Hank and we moved inside.

​Since our campground was at 8,000 feet in elevation, the air was cool when Hank awoke at 6 am to walk the dogs. He had to don a jacket for the first time in ages.

Angie decided that we would spend our first day exploring the North loop of the park. We got an early start, but were soon stuck in a "buffalo jam". A herd of about 400 bison were scattered across Hayden Valley and many of them were crossing the road to reach the flats along the Yellowstone River. A cow and calf stopped in the middle of the road directly in front of us! The cow was trying to get the calf to cross the road, but the calf wasn't having it. The cow kept turning nervously, sizing up the cars stopped on both sides of the road. We slowly inched forward as the cow brayed loudly, close enough to Angie's window that I was surprised it didn't fog the glass!

We drove through Canyon Village and Tower-Roosevelt in our eagerness to reach Lamar Valley - where Angie and Joe had seen the largest assortment of wildlife - including bear. Somewhere around Dunraven Pass, Angie spotted a bear running across the road a couple of cars ahead of us. We stopped and photographed a single, small grizzly meandering through a field of tall grass, occasionally scratching the earth or a dead tree trunk. Spectacular! We learned that grizzly stay with their mothers for two or three years, so we expect that Momma was nearby, but we never saw her.

We were later disappointed to find that the road to Lamar Valley was closed. A ranger told us that the flooding this spring had washed out the road. Only construction vehicles were allowed through. Undaunted, we continued north to Fort Yellowstone, where, prior to the establishment of the National Park Service, an army garrison manned the park entrance and enforced the rules. There was a massive, white rock formation on the hills above the fort. As we pulled up to a parking lot across from the barracks and chapel, we saw three elk cows and a couple of calves, grazing lazily on the shady lawn of the barracks.

The Fort Yellowstone Visitor Center had very informative historical and wildlife exhibits. Great photography, taxidermy and placards kept us entralled for about 30 minutes. We learned that the white rock formation were terraces of travertine, a rock composed of calcium carbonate that was deposited from the water bubbling out of Mammoth Hot Springs. We were able to drive through the upper section of the terrace on a single-lane road.

We turned southward on the Northern loop to return to Canyon Village to explore the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We drove along the North Rim Road, where we got several vistas of the upper falls and the canyon. Then we drove to the Upper Falls, where a short hike took us to the brink, which was beautiful and impressive, but left us wanting to see a more complete view of the bottom of the falls. We drove to the South Rim where we found the vantage point we wanted.

We returned to the trailer for some "linner". We filled the cooler with drinks and headed back to the beach with the dogs, who had been patiently riding in the back seat, awaiting their turn at some exericse. Sadly, dogs are not allowed on the trails and boardwalks in Yellowstone.

Angie was determined to find us a larger, more private beach on the lake. We found the beach that she and Joe and visited previously, but learned that no dogs were allowed on that beach. We kept driving south along the west shore and were rewarded with the discovery of a small, private, sunny cove a short, steep walk down from the parking area. It was Idyllic. Charlie transformed into a river otter, as she speedily paddled to retrieve her toy again and again - never seeming to tire. We enjoyed soaking up the sun and the scenery, dipping our feet in the cool water, until the late afternoon sun dropped below the treetops.

​Given that we had a short drive - less than three hours - we labored over a slow Internet connection to update more than a week of activity on our travel blog.

Driving west from Buffalo, the land began to look like typical high desert. We drove through the town of Cody, which is a good size city with a lot of tourist attractions, including all things Buffalo Bill and a nightly rodeo. West of town we drove through some tunnels by a hydroelectric dam and discovered a massive reservoir. The high plateaus on either side were reminiscent of the Columbia River between Wenatchee and Chelan. It was quite windy.

We slowly climbed up to the East entrance of Yellowstone - the world's first national park, established in 1872 by Ulysses Grant. Once entering the park, the speed limit dropped to 45 on twisty, two-lane roads. After crossing a peak, the enormous Lake Yellowstone came into view. We had to drive about 30 miles to our campground at Fisherman's Bridge, which was tripled in capacity this year when they opened a sparkling, new 300-site loop for larger RVs. We were grateful to get a spacious pull-through site in the new loop. The orginal loops were crammed tighter than any other campground we have ever seen. Adjacent trailers, aligned rear-to-rear with their front ends facing opposite directions were offset by one-half site width so that their their front doors practically faced each other. It was like they had to share a patio between them. And they are paying the same price as us - nearly $100 per night - the most expensive stay of our trip.

After we got settled in, Angie was eager to take the dogs to a beach that she and her brother, Joe, had discovered on an earlier trip. We piled in the truck and drove a short distance down the western shore of the lake until we found a wide, half-moon, gravelly beach on Gull Point Drive. There was only one other party of two on the beach. On the way back to the campground we saw several large Elk in the woods along the road.

​ During our pleasant drive west on I-90, we took a short side trip to Devil's Tower, which was featured in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." It rises nearly 900 feet from the surrounding ground. There are various theories on it's formation. Most believe that it was a relatively small intrusive body formed by magma which cooled underground and was later exposed by erosion. To the native peoples, the Tower was a sacred site - a place for winter camps, vision quests, and summer ceremonies. 

We arrived at Indian Campground in Buffalo, Wyoming. It was a lovely, shady oasis with well kept lawns, gravel drives and nice bathhouse. Angie had read about the historic Occidental Hotel and bar in town, which was a short one-mile walk from our campsite. Streak and Charlie joined us on the walk since the bar is dog-friendly. We found a spacious, cool bar with a music stage and billiard room. Wildlife trophies - including pronghorn, grizzly, black bear and even a jaguar - crowded the walls. 

We were surprised to find many menu items named for the Longmire book and TV series. Craig Johnson, the Wyoming author of the book series, drew on many of the local sites for the fictional Absaroca County setting. The Busy Bee is a real restaurant, right next door to the Occidental. Signed photos of cast members from the TV series are displayed in the bar. 

​We started our day at Wind Caves National Park. This is a sacred site to the Lakota who believed that the Great Spirit sent buffalo and people forth into the world from this place. White men discovered the cave in 1881, drawn by the sound of the wind which whistled in and out of an 8-inch by 10-inch hole in the ground. Underneath that hole is a honeycomb network of caves that, to date, has been measured at more than 140 miles long - all contained within one square mile. They are still exploring the spaghetti-like passages, so the length continues to increase. The depth reaches 600 feet. It is a dry cave, so there are no stalagmites and stalactites. Instead, there is a unique calcite formation called box work

The next stop was Custer State Park, which is known for it's large buffalo herd. We loved the scenic rolling hills in the park. A ranger kindly directed us back a gravel road where we found the herd and were able to drive among them. What magnificent creatures they are! Traffic was thick, but mostly kept moving. The buffalo were quite experienced at crossing the busy road between cars. Streak was fascinated as it probably stirs memories of his youth in which he lived on a cattle ranch. Charlie tried to bark at them, but we quickly quieted her. 

Angie was determined to see Deadwood, which was more than an hour drive away. Hank took a nap while she took the wheel and navigated us there. The Black Hills are incredibly beautiful - diverse and enthralling. The views vary from wide green plans bordered by mountains to steep, narrow canyons to hilltop vistas. Blue skies and temperatures in the low 80s made for an epic day.

Deadwood was a gold mining boom town that never died. Throughout the day, roaming actors in period costumes staged re-enactments of  historical gunfights, based on original newspaper accounts. The highlights are the murder of Wild Bill Hickock at a poker table and the subsequent trial of his assassin. The dogs were not fans of the gunfire.

We found a basement bar that let us bring the dogs inside. They had great pizza and a guitarist showed up to perform while we were eating. When we clapped after each song, Charlie chimed in with her loud barking. The musician appreciated her feedback, as the crowd was small.

We returned to Ellsworth to do laundry and stock up on supplies before continuing our trip.

​We got an early start to Mt. Rushmore to beat the crowd. We were second in line for the self-guided audio tour handsets. What an awesome and inspiring sight! We loved the stories of the history, construction and dedication of the monument.

Having just finished "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," there was no way we could miss a visit to the Crazy Horse monument. Only the face and the beginning of the arm and finger are visible at present, but the museum and performance stage were worth a visit on their own. We saw an outstanding hoop dance performed. The dancer took time to explain a lot about Lakota culture and history.

For $8, we got a private guide to ride with us in our truck to the base of the monument. We talked a lot about the history of the government's dealings with the Lakota people and his own personal story as well. The average income of a family on a Lakota reservation is $7,000 per year. To date, the Lakota have no large casinos to help fund social programs for their people. One recent proposal was stymied by local government who refused to extend a sewer system to the proposed site - even though it would have been funded by the tribe.

In the evening we attended a chuck wagon dinner and variety show at the site of the Fort Hays set from the film "Dances With Wolves", which is Angie's favorite movie. We were able to go inside the office where the unhinged Major assigns Lt Dunbar to the Army’s most distant outpost, Fort Sedgewick. We watched part of a documentary about the struggles Costner had to go through to get the film funded as well as the production challenges during filming. His directorial debut earned 7 Oscars and grossed over $400 million. 

After a beautiful sunrise over the hills on the east bank of the Missouri River, we hit the road. A timely potty break brought us to the Minuteman Missile National Monument. Hank was less enthralled, so our time there was limited.

The next stop was Badlands National Park, which looked kind of like the painted desert or perhaps a miniature version of Bryce Canyon.  We learned that the name came from early French trappers. The oldest fossils there are from the period when there was a shallow inland sea across the plains of North America. There are many fossils of large mammals from 20-30 million years ago, including ancestors of the modern dog and horse. We saw big horn sheep on the way out of the park!

No visit to South Dakota would be complete without a visit to Wall Drug. https://www.walldrug.com/ the iconic tourist stop that travelers anticipate for 300 miles as they read the periodic road sign stands that extend for at least that range in both directions on I-90 from the tiny town. Hank first learned of this roadside attraction, which was founded in 1931, in a business school case study in strategic management. It started as a simple drug store. Now it is a 76,000 square-foot roadside attraction and emporium that pulls in more than 2 million visitors and $12 million in revenue. Our main interest was the t-shirt shop, but we also enjoyed the five-cent coffee and homemade ice cream. There are signs all over the world that show the direction and distance to Wall Drug. If you want to calculate the distance from your location, here are the coordinates: 43.9929° N, 102.2415° W.

We arrived at our campsite at Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, SD; it was beautifully constructed and well maintained. It was close to I-90 and had a large adjacent lawn where we could run off the dogs' excess energy. 

​Hank was surprised how green South Dakota was. We're not sure if this is typical for late July. There was more hay than corn compared to what we saw in Nebraska - and the corn was not as tall. But, nevertheless, the prarier was quite green. 

We followed the Missouri River to the Northwest throughout the day, finally arriving at another Corps of Engineers campground. This one was free of algae and watermilfoil, but the weather was windy, so we passed on paddle boarding. We opted instead to explore the large campground and let the dogs chase their toys in the water and on the grass.

This campground had some unique, curved privacy screens around each picnic table. Someone got quite creative with this design, to the good effect

We had a leisurely morning preparing to depart from Joe and Lynn's house, while waiting for FedEx to deliver a refill of Charlie's allergy medication. We hugged out our good-byes and rolled on to South Dakota. Joe sent us a photo of his very sad dog, Bailey, who was already missing her ball playing buddies.

Our first campground was at a Corps of Engineers dam on the Missouri River. We crossed the state line from Nebraska to South Dakota as we rolled over the dam to enter the campground. We had a site just across the gravel drive from a quiet cove with a man-made shore of boulders. We found a fairly level spot near a stormwater inlet where the dogs could access the water to fetch their toys. There's nothing Charlie likes more than swimming to retrieve her toy!

We inflated the paddleboards with our electric high-pressure tire pump, which took about 50 minutes. Hank kicks himself every time we go through this process, because he chose to leave behind our high volume stand-up paddleboard pump in order to save space. Argh! He should have known that Angie would have found a place for it. Packing is one of her super powers - along with trip planning. She has a knack for finding great sites within great campgrounds with an ideal driving distance between them. What a girl!

The calm water and sun were fun to paddle in, but there was a lot of algae along the shore, which made for a smelly ingress and egress. There were also large patches of watermilfoils, which presented a bit of a navigation hazard. While Hank was crossing one, the long weeds grabbed the fin on the bottom of his board and he fell to his knees. After that, we slalomed between the hazardous patches.

Our hypothesis is that the algae and watermilfoil are present because of fertilizer that farmers use on their corn and soybean crops. Fortunately, we have not seen this on other Corps of Engineers lakes. Angie's brother, Joe, double filters his home drinking water because of the pesticides and fertilizer.

Charlie's longer coat retained the foul, algae smell so we had to bathe her. We used Joe's trick of using a half-gallon jug of soapy water to lather the dog. Hank repaired our outdoor shower while we were in Pennsylvania, so rinsing was a snap, too.